Asia Economic Outlook Asia Outlook: Rate cuts and trade uncertainty We expect economic growth across the region to remain subdued, with most economies set to record below-trend and below-consensus growth this year. While lower interest rates will provide some support... 25th March 2025 · 28 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Turmoil in a few EMs not a sign of widespread risks The financial market sell-offs in Indonesia, Turkey and Colombia this week are, in part, a reflection of concerns about strained balance sheets. We think that vulnerabilities in some frontier markets... 20th March 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: equity plunge underscores policy concerns The sharp fall in Indonesia’s stock market today seems to reflect growing worries about the direction of fiscal policy and the state’s role in the economy under President Prabowo Subianto, which could... 18th March 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Is Indonesia taking a wrong turn under Prabowo? Prabowo Subianto came into office in Indonesia in October pledging to raise economic growth to 8%, up from around the 5% rate it has been stuck at recently. However, the policy changes he has... 5th March 2025 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Jump in Korea’s fertility rate, Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund Figures published earlier this week showed the fertility rate in Korea increased last year for the first time in nine years. However, we think this was mainly due to a post-COVID rebound in marriages... 28th February 2025 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia’s bond purchases could backfire Bank Indonesia now owns a larger share of government bonds than some DM central banks did at the height of their pandemic QE programmes. Amidst worries that the fiscal guardrails are coming off, BI’s... 27th February 2025 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Korea’s political crisis, BI’s surprise cut, Trump and Asia There are growing signs that the economy in Korea is being affected by the political crisis. This is one of the key reasons why we think the central bank will resume its easing cycle soon, following... 17th January 2025 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia Weekly: Bank of Korea to cut rates again, free meals in Indonesia With inflation under control and signs the political crisis is weighing on the already-weak economy, we expect the Bank of Korea to cut interest rates by a further 25bps at its meeting on Thursday... 10th January 2025 · 7 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Indonesia Policy Rate (December 2024) Bank Indonesia today left interest rates on hold at 6.00%, and given worries about the exchange rate we don’t think it will be until the second half of next year at the earliest that it resumes its... 18th December 2024 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Asia Manufacturing PMIs, Korea Trade (November) The November PMIs for Asia remained weak and are consistent with our expectation for manufacturing activity in the region to remain subdued in the near term. The data also showed a modest pick-up in... 2nd December 2024 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Winners and losers in Asia from a Trump presidency We have taken out the two 25bps cuts that we had pencilled in for Bank Indonesia’s last two meetings of the year. But for most places in Asia, a Trump presidency shouldn’t have a huge impact on... 8th November 2024 · 6 mins read
